In recent years, a great deal of effort has been made in the field of protein technology in producing meat substitutes. Extensive development has occurred and is continuing in providing meat analogs based on different formulations.
Feldbrugge, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,435, patented Nov. 22, 1975, describes a meat analog system which uses a mixture of an encapsulated combination of polymeric carbohydrate gel precursor with an animal fat or vegetable oil and a protein gel precursor containing a mixture of vegetable proteinaceous material and non-vegetable proteinaceous material such as albumen, casein, whey and mixtures thereof.
Leidy, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,291, patented Jan. 16, 1973, describes a meat analog containing a blend of a combination of non-fibrous vegetable protein and non-vegetable protein of albumen, casein, whey and mixtures thereof with non-rendered animal fat and filler material of specific interest in the production of a juicy sausage analog. Another Leidy, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,837, patented Jan. 30, 1973, describes a process for making a similar meat analog as produced in U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,291 described above, but also requiring freezing and thawing the product to provide a juicy sausage analog. An additional Leidy, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,678, patented Sep. 17, 1974, describes a sausage-like food product prepared by autoclaving a gel precursor which is a mixture of a non-fibrous gelable soy protein isolate and material selected from albumen, casein, whey and mixtures thereof.
A fourth Leidy, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,498 suggests a sausage analog process similar to that described in the three other Leidy, et al. patents noted above. This patent describes a meat analog formed from a protein gel precursor that has incorporated therein frozen non-rendered animal fatty tissue prior to a heating operation which causes gelation of the vegetable protein.
Tewey, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,352, patented Nov. 25, 1975, describes a process to produce a juicy sausage analog having three distinct phases: a continuous gel phase; a substantially discontinuous fat phase; and a discontinuous chewy proteinaceous phase. In this process, solidified fat particles, particles of a chewy proteinaceous component and a precursor of the continuous gel phase are mixed and coarsely chopped to obtain a substantially uniform heterogeneous distribution of the particulate material within the continuous gel phase precursor. The resulting coarsely chopped blend is formed into a substantially cohesive sausage analog by coagulating the continuous gel phase precursor.
In a copending application, entitled "Meat Analog Having A Protein-Gum-Starch Matrix" and filed on Mar. 26, 1984 in the name of Michael Thomas, et al., Ser. No. 593,213, and incorporated herein by reference, and commonly assigned as the present application, there is described a meat analog which combines water, a heat edible coaguable proteinaceous material, specific hydrocolloids, such as xanthan gum or locust bean gum, a particulate unmodified waxy starch of branched chain amylopectin polymers and a liquid or semi-liquid fat. This meat analog resembles and duplicates, in essential physical and taste characteristics, a wide variety of natural animal meat cuts such as bacon, steak, pork chops, etc., as well as meat systems reprocessed and reformulated with other components as in a sausage product. All of the above patent and patent application references describe satisfactorily meat and/or sausage analogs. With respect to the present invention, is has now been found that if the meat analog of the copending application, described above, is used in a first phase of an analog product, in combination with a fat release emulsion in a second phase as described below, a Vienna sausage analog having improvements in juiciness, snap and flavor, while also having natural qualities such as those of an all-meat product, is achieved.